HighlanderNorth
Flashlight Enthusiast
Just for the heck of it I decided to go and see if there are ammunition shortages in the wake of the new and sweeping attempts at new gun laws, so I went to USA Midway first, and I looked at the most common caliber in rifles, .223 Rem/5.56x45mm. This also might disprove the idea of buying the most common things because they are more likely to be on the shelves(see: AA batteries vs. CR123).
They had over 200 separate ammo choices in .223 Rem, but not a single one was in stock! So I checked on the 5.56m X 45mm, and with 26 choices, there were none in stock. I looked at the less common .221 Fireball, which USA Midway had only like 12 ammo choices, and most were out f stock, but a few were in stock.
So I went over to Cheaper than Dirt(cheaperthandirt.com) and at first it seemed they had some 5.56mm/.223 in stock, but then I looked at the prices, and they want $29.99 for a 20 round box of Korean made PMC M855, 5.56 x 45mm, 62gr brass cased ammo, 20 round box. I bought about 7 boxes of this identical ammo about 1.5 years ago for $5.99 per box! But I also went to cheaperthandirt just 3-4 months ago and saw they had it for $6.49 per box.
But now they want $29.99 per box of 20! Thats 500% higher than 1 year ago, and over 400% higher than 3-4 months ago. Also, they carry the cheap, lower quality Russian made Brown Bear steel cased .223 ammo for $299.00 per case of 500. Thats up 300% too. Its questionable in quality. That stuff used to be $4.50 per box of 20.
I know for a fact that wholesale costs have not gone up, because USA Midway has sent out a pamphlet promising not to raise their costs when they get more ammo in, so obviously they arent going to sell for regular price if they will lose money on it big time!
Has anyone ever seen price gouging to that degree? I sure havent! Not 400-500% price increases. I sent cheaperthandirt an email letting them know they are disrespecting their customers, and it wont be forgotten when things get back to normal(For what good that will do!)
They had over 200 separate ammo choices in .223 Rem, but not a single one was in stock! So I checked on the 5.56m X 45mm, and with 26 choices, there were none in stock. I looked at the less common .221 Fireball, which USA Midway had only like 12 ammo choices, and most were out f stock, but a few were in stock.
So I went over to Cheaper than Dirt(cheaperthandirt.com) and at first it seemed they had some 5.56mm/.223 in stock, but then I looked at the prices, and they want $29.99 for a 20 round box of Korean made PMC M855, 5.56 x 45mm, 62gr brass cased ammo, 20 round box. I bought about 7 boxes of this identical ammo about 1.5 years ago for $5.99 per box! But I also went to cheaperthandirt just 3-4 months ago and saw they had it for $6.49 per box.
But now they want $29.99 per box of 20! Thats 500% higher than 1 year ago, and over 400% higher than 3-4 months ago. Also, they carry the cheap, lower quality Russian made Brown Bear steel cased .223 ammo for $299.00 per case of 500. Thats up 300% too. Its questionable in quality. That stuff used to be $4.50 per box of 20.
I know for a fact that wholesale costs have not gone up, because USA Midway has sent out a pamphlet promising not to raise their costs when they get more ammo in, so obviously they arent going to sell for regular price if they will lose money on it big time!
Has anyone ever seen price gouging to that degree? I sure havent! Not 400-500% price increases. I sent cheaperthandirt an email letting them know they are disrespecting their customers, and it wont be forgotten when things get back to normal(For what good that will do!)
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